Hot on the heels of this year's Cannes Lions Festival, Publicis CEO Maurice Levy has made a statement admitting that the planned merger between his group and Omnicom, which fell apart back in May, will cost the company between 40 and 50 million euros. He said, in a statement issued yesterday, that "There will in effect by a financial cost and it's between 40 and 50 million euros." The merger between the third and second largest advertising groups in the world was expected to help the group overtake WPP, but due to numerous disagreements, the merger fell apart before anyone in the advertising world was able to take it seriously.
"There will in effect by a financial cost and it's between 40 and 50 million euros." Maurice Levy on the failed merger
Levy might have been a little more candid than expected as he has recently announced that he won't be planning to stay on as CEO of the Publicis Groupe after next year when his current mandate expires after more than three decades at the French advertising behemoth. He has said that he doesn't think extending his CEO mandate “Is the right solution,” but that he is “Ready to lend support in any possible form that will facilitate a transition.” The question as to who will succeed Levy when he steps down at the end of 2015 is one that has troubled the group's investors for a while now.
Maurice Levy
That's not to say that Publicis has stopped looking ahead to the future, though, as evidenced by two recent hires made by their Singapore branch. It was announced yesterday that Sharon Tan and Lian Ju Han have been appointed as regional business director, and planning director respectively.
“Sharon Tan and Lian Ju Han are a perfect fit for the growing team of “Passionate, young entrepreneurial people” at Publicis Singapore
Prior to her new role at Publicis, Tan served as branding director at SOHO, the largest office real estate developer in China, where she led all of the company's digital, e-commerce and social media efforts. The move marks a return to Singapore for Tan, as prior to her work in China, she had also held numerous senior agency client managing roles in Singapore, managing global brands such as Singapore Airlines, Lexus and ESPN. Han, meanwhile, began his career in advertising at JTW Malaysia, where he handled accounts like HSBC Malaysia and Ford. He joins Publicis from DDB, where he worked on accounts such as McDonald's and Unilever, as well as the Singapore Health Promotion Board (HPB). In his time at DDB, he led pitches on many key wins for the agency, including the renewal of HPB, the National Environment Agency, and Project Jewel under the Changi Airport Group.
Sharon Tan
Lou DeLa Pena, the CEO of Publicis Singapore is optimistic about his new hires. He says that he feels Tan and Han “Belong to a new breed of rising talent in Asia.” He labels both of them as “Progressive thinkers who advocate positive change on the brands they work on,” which is proven by their exemplary track record. “He believes they are a perfect fit for the growing team of “Passionate, young entrepreneurial people” at Publicis Singapore.
Official Publicis Singapore Website
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer from the UK who admires Mr Levy for his honesty.
